


Whirlwind

by a_windsor



Series: Exile [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 16:32:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4529115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_windsor/pseuds/a_windsor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place immediately after Impulse. Response to anonymous prompt on Tumblr: "Obvious prompt: family reactions to Nyssa and Sara's new baby".</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This got a little long, so it'll be two or three chapters. :P

    Laurel is just trying to enjoy the herbal tea Felicity pushed into her hand after a long night on patrol. There’s a nice breeze coming in from the open sliding doors of the Birds’ Nest, and Sin, asleep upstairs now, is covering for her at work in the morning. She’s just trying to relax a little while Felicity debriefs her, Oliver, and Thea when the texts come in.   
    “Oh my god!” Laurel cries, dropping her phone onto the coffee table and physically backing up. “Oh my god, oh my god.”  
    Oliver gets defensive, looking around like someone’s on the attack. Thea and Felicity each give her a curious look.  
    “Are you okay, Laurel?” Thea asks with a touch of concern.   
    Laurel gestures for Felicity to pick up the phone, unable to form words.  Felicity takes it in her hand gingerly and reads the news that has Laurel Lance practically hyperventilating:  
    It’s a picture first, a freaking selfie of Sara, Nyssa, Rocket, _and a newborn infant!_  
     _Surprise! We kinda have a baby now!_ Sara writes.  
     _Damian is my nephew._ Nyssa’s text clarifies, and the eye roll is evident even in the words. _We have assumed responsibility for his care and upbringing._   
    Felicity squeals with delight and hands the phone off to Thea, whose mouth falls open before breaking into wide grin.   
    “You’re an aunt!” Felicity tells Laurel.   
    “Wait, what?” Oliver exclaims, and Thea hands him the phone. His face is classic.   
    “She can’t do anything normal,” Laurel cries. “It’s always ‘Surprise, I’m alive!’”  
    “Twice,” Felicity agrees.  
    “And ‘Surprise, I’m gonna come live in Starling for six months!’ and ‘Surprise, _we have a baby_.’”  
    Thea laughs.   
    Laurel sighs and takes the phone back.  
    "I didn't even know Nyssa had siblings," Laurel says.  
    "Half," Thea answers. "At least one sister."  
     Laurel’s phone is ringing before she can respond to that.  
    “I know,” Laurel answers her father’s call.  
    “I’m sorry, am I a grandfather?” is how her dad responds.   
    “Unclear, but definitely at least kinda.”  
    “Okay then. Did you have any idea?”  
    “None. How’s your heart?”  
    “Fine, surprisingly. Still just processing. Surprise reveal via text message is a new one. Do you think your mother is up and got-“  
    A call beeps in. “That’s her now, plus I have to wake up-“  
    “OH MY GOD IT’S A TINY HUMAN!”  
    “I think she’s awake,” her dad chuckles. “Call me back.”  
    “Got it.”  
    Laurel gestures to Felicity and Thea to handle Sin (who is currently standing at the top of the stairs waving her phone around in Mickey Mouse boxes) while she switches over to her mother.  
    “I know exactly as much as you do,” Laurel answers.  
    “That’s not possible. I know nothing.”  
    “Exactly. The texts and that’s it.”  
    “This is insane.”  
    “You wouldn’t be _quite_ as surprised if you had spent a summer watching Nyssa get all melty when Sara was with Baby Sara.”  
    “Your sister and her flair for the dramatic are going to be the death of me, Laurel.”  
    “I know, Mom. I know.”  
    “Oh, Laurel, Sara’s actually calling me. I’ll call you back when I know more.”  
    “Okay, Mom.”  
    Even more exhausted now, Laurel sits down at the breakfast bar, dropping her phone to the granite with a click. Sin, who Laurel hadn’t even realized was there, slides a glass of chocolate milk towards her, one of her own already headed towards her lips.  
    “Well, I think we’re kind of aunts,” Sin says, looking a little dazed.  
    “I think we kind of are,” Laurel says, lifting her glass in salute.  
    “You know what the weirdest thing is?” Sin asks.  
    “What?”  
    “I think they might actually be really freaking good at it.”  
    “I think you’re right.”  
  
  
***  
  
    “Hey, I’m gonna go get on a plane chartered by the League of Assassins. I have no idea where it is going. I mean, besides to Central City to pick up Professor Lance. Wait, I don’t know if that’s her name now…”  
    “Okay,” Oliver says distractedly, working on his arrows. “Wait, what?!”  
    “Don’t worry about it. I just need you to keep things running at work, Mr. VP.”  
    “Yeah, of course, but back up.”  
    “Nyssa called. She’s sending a plane. They’re going into hiding, sorta, with the baby, and I’m apparently the world expert on hiding Sara Lance.”  
    Oliver grins a little at that, and Felicity quickly shuts down that little swooning part of her. He’s come a long way, but she, they, are not ready for that.  
    “Anyway,” she presses on. “Laurel, me, and Sin are going on the plane, picking up their mom, and then we’re really flying to parts unknown. I think it’s one of those ‘better if you don’t know’ situations.”  
    Oliver looks slightly less confused, and it’s a sign of his growth that he does not object or moralize. Maybe they’re closer to ready than she thinks…  
    “Be safe,” he offers.  
    “I will.”  
    “Tell them congratulations? Should I send a gift?”  
    Felicity laughs. The confusion is back, and it sure is cute.  
    “They’re probably okay on stuff.”  
    “Right. Do you need a ride to the air strip?”  
    “That would be great,” she beams at him.  
  
***  
  
    “Can I ask you something, Mom?”  
    Felicity and Sin are zonked out at the front of the plane, but Laurel’s always been a bit of a nervous flier. Especially en route to a secret League of Assassins location.  
    “Of course, Laurel. Anything.”  
    “How did you forgive Nyssa? I mean, I practically lived with them for six months, but you barely see them. So I’m just… curious.”  
    Her mother considers the question for some time, and Laurel worries she’d picked the wrong scab at the worst time. Finally, her mother says:  
    “Sara calls me every other week. Did you know that?”  
    Laurel shakes her head.  
    “It’s a little new. Since her latest… death. I don’t think it was her idea.”  
    “You think it’s Nyssa’s?”  
    Her mother nods.  
    “Do you know how old Nyssa was when her mother died?”  
    To be honest, Laurel didn’t even officially know that Nyssa’s mother was dead. She’d just guessed.   
    “She was seven,” Dinah continues. “That seems like an awful time to lose a mother. Just long enough to know what you’ve lost.”  
    Laurel has to agree, but she isn’t sure what-  
    “I don’t think it’s random that Nyssa took me, and not you or your father. I… was terrified, and perhaps she would have actually killed me that night. But she was playing by the only rules she’d ever known, and she was doing what she thought was necessary to keep Sara alive. My life for Sara’s?” She pauses. “It’s not an unreasonable trade.”  
    No, Laurel reasons to herself. It probably isn’t. She’d probably trade herself for Sara in an instant.  
    “I have a League bodyguard,” Dinah says. “Nyssa informed me of her presence. She said she did not wish to deceive or interfere, but that she could not allow anything to happen to me. The girl - woman, actually - her name is Talibah. Sometimes I invite her for dinner. She’s lovely.”  
    “Whoa. I didn’t know that.”  
    “Nyssa loves your sister fiercely. That makes her family. Sometimes very scary family, but family all the same. She apologized sincerely and owned her mistakes honestly. That’s all I ever asked of you girls, so it’s all I expect of her.” Her mom smiles and looks over towards Sin. “I seem to be acquiring daughters left and right. I don’t know what I’ll do with a grandson.”  
    Laurel laughs.   
    “Yeah, you do. Buy him a ton of books and spoil him rotten.”  
    There’s a bag of children’s books already sitting at Dinah’s feet. She grins.  
    “You’re not wrong.”  
  
***  
  
    To say it’s been a whirlwind week would be a gross understatement. Thankfully, seven years in the League of Assassins has made Sara used to rapidly changing realities and surviving  
on two hour chunks of sleep.  
    They have a nanny with them, Umm Saleem, who raised Nyssa herself. Sara caught on quickly, however, that Nyssa prefers to be as hands on with Damian as possible, relinquishing Damian to Umm Saleem’s care only when both she and Sara were needed for the plans and preparations necessary to move a whole secret League household to a little known, lightly populated island off Africa’s Mediterranean coast.   
    Rocket is taking all the changes the hardest, followed closely by one of the two girls who cared for the cats whenever they were away. The other girl has moved with them; her mother runs the kitchen in the walled villa that will now be home.  
    Rocket has of course come with them, but it’s the tiny, loud competitor for her attention that has frazzled her most. She is actually very protective of him; it took twenty minutes, quite a bit of soothing, and some well-timed treats for her to allow Umm Saleem to hold the baby. But when Damian is in the arms of whoever’s lap or pets or general attention she wants, she very dramatically… pouts. And passive-aggressively pees under his bassinet, though Sara isn’t sure if that’s acting out or marking him as hers. Thankfully the floors are all tile and stone.   
    Sara is hopeful that the planeful of ladies who adore Rocket will give her girl a bit of an affection boost, and Rocket _has_ shown signs of coming around to the idea of sharing a lap or belly around nap time.  
    Sara is also hopeful that having her mom here will help with the whole kinda sorta actually definitely parenting thing she’s found herself doing. She’s like ten-percent terrified. Maybe fifteen-percent. Nyssa is probably somewhere around twenty-five.   
    Ra’s had expressed nothing but pleasure and utmost confidence in their suitability for this new endeavor, leaving Sara as convinced as Nyssa that he had totally planned this all along. She should probably be angrier about that.   
    The villa is still chaotic, full of people preparing it to be the semi-permanent home of the Heir, her Beloved, and the grandson of the Demon, a full house staff, and a complement of only the best and most trustworthy League Assassins to keep the place safe. These latter are, not coincidentally, those who had accompanied them to Starling and were assigned to all of hers and Nyssa’s missions since. Back in Nanda Parbat, Sara overheard them called the Red and Gold. It weirds her out that that _doesn’t_ weird her out anymore.  
    Rocket does not like helicopters, but Rocket also does not like being away from Sara very much right now, so she has sought solace in Sara’s arm as the helicopter delivers her mom, sisters, and Felicity to this whacky new world they live in.  
  
***  
  
    “A princess,” Laurel is saying as the helicopter blades slow above them. “My sister is a freaking princess.”  
    Felicity finds it pretty hard to argue with that. And she thought the Birds’ Nest was fancy!  
    “Damn,” is all Sin manages as she hops onto the grass.   
    All Felicity knows about where they are is that it’s an island. She fell asleep on the plane, so she’s not even sure how long they flew. She’s not going to ask too many questions, though. The less she knows the better.  
    Sara is waiting for them, bat-eared Rocket in her arms. In jeans and a v-neck, she’s not exactly dressed the part of the princess, even if the great white walls of the villa, the luxurious landscaping, and the bustling of servants and bodyguards seem to say she’s at least almost there.  
    Felicity turns to help the professor out of the helicopter, but Laurel has beat her to it. She looks back to Sara and sees Sin and Rocket sprinting towards each other dramatically. Sin laughs as the excited pup overshoots her and skids around, running circles around her with a million mile per hour tail.  
    Sara shakes her head as she walks past the two of them actually wrestling in the grass, and right into her mother’s arms. She holds her close and thanks her for coming, before doing the same for Felicity and Laurel. Then she scoops Sin off the ground and into a bear hug. Rocket turns her attention to Laurel and Felicity, scratching at their knees, trying to decide whose attention she wants the most right now.  
    “Holy crap, Sara,” Sin is saying.  
    “What?” Sara asks.  
    “Just all of it. Surprise baby, secret island, all of it.”  
    “I have to second that,” Dinah answers. “Where _is_ Damian anyway?”  
    “Nyssa has him. Jeez, you bring a baby into the family and suddenly no one wants to see you anymore.”  
    “Shoulda thought of that before you… How _did_ you get him, anyway?” Felicity asks.  
    “I’ll let Nyssa tell that story,” Sara grins mischievously. “Come on. Your bags’ll be delivered to your rooms.” She turns, probably to call Rocket to her, but the pup has wheedled her way into Laurel’s arms already.  
    “Don’t worry, puppy-niece,” Felicity hears Laurel say. “I won’t forget you just because there’s an almost-nephew now.”

 

***

 

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

Damian is a beautiful child, with almond-shaped dark eyes and a mess of thick, dark hair, even at five weeks old. To Nyssa’s eyes, he most resembles Talia and even her father, but she can see a bit of Bruce Wayne in his malleable features as well, from what she remembers of the brooding bat of Gotham City during his time with the League. Sara insists there’s something of her in there, too, but Nyssa has yet to see it.

  
    Sara has dressed him in the Starling City Rockets sleeper that his aunts brought. His little feet are encased in the legs of the garment, which are designed to look like baseball socks. Dinah has him now, already reading him a story about a rabbit named Peter and rocking him in the very chair Nyssa’s mother once rocked her in, a chair Nyssa has nearly fallen asleep in several times in the last week.

    Dinah’s presence has been both wonderful and terrible. Nyssa misses her own mother more keenly than she has allowed herself to in a very long time.

    “Nyssa,” Dinah calls her, catching her lingering in the doorway to the nursery. She picks up the leather-bound tome resting on the table beside the chair. “Where did you get this exquisite book?”

    “My mother’s collection,” Nyssa answers, entering. She inherited her mother’s adoration of the written word along with every book that had once lined every wall of Amina Raatko’s rooms at Nanda Parbat. Sara, her restless, ever-moving Sara, did not share this love, but Nyssa is happy to find that Dinah does.

    “I can’t read it, of course, but the illustrations are beautiful, as is the script.”

    Nyssa nods. “Some of my earliest memories are reading that on her lap.”

    Damian sleeps quite peacefully, cradled in her arms, and Dinah smiles down at him.

    “He’s a lucky little boy, to have you and Sara. I’m not sure I ever thought I’d see my Sara as a mother, but then again, she is full of surprises.”

    Nyssa smiles, just a little.

    “That she is. Though I believe I surprised _her_ this time. She has, as always, risen admirably to the occasion.”

    “She’s always liked a challenge,” Dinah agrees with a grin. She looks back to Damian. “Do you think his mother will change her mind?”

    Nyssa tilts her head, thinking.

    “I suppose it’s a possibility. But an unlikely one, knowing Talia. This was not a rash decision on her part. Talia does nothing rashly. She provided my father with a continuation of his line, which earns her favor in his eyes, and she does not need to raise and guide a child, which she has no desire to do.” She pauses. “Damian will know she is his mother, however, and she may see him whenever she wishes.”

    “And his father?”

    “Unaware of his paternity, and it is in Damian’s best interest that it remain that way. He would not approve of a League upbringing, and there can be no room for negotiation on that.”

    Dinah is a shrewd woman; Nyssa admires that about her. The traits Sara shares with her mother were likely those that allowed her to survive and flourish in the League. Dinah sees and understands reality, knows Damian’s likely future, and appears to Nyssa to have found some kind of peace with that.

    “Do you think it would be okay if he called me Grandma?” Dinah asks.

    “That would be very appropriate. He has none other.” She pauses, thinking for a moment. “And he should be lucky to do so.”

    Dinah smiles at her, brightly, echoes of Sara in it.

    “And Quentin?”

    Nyssa considers.

    “Yes, that should be fine. He will call my father another name.”

    “I do think Quentin will be honored. Can he visit? He’s actually better at this whole baby thing, anyway. I was better with the girls once they could hold up their end of the conversation, but he could just walk or sit with them for hours. He did most of the midnight shifts with Laurel and Sara.”

    “I will arrange for it as soon as possible, if you think he would be comfortable here.”

    “Oh not at all,” Dinah laughs. “But he’ll suck it up to be here for Sara and Damian.”

    “I’ll make the arrangements.”

    “Thank you. I know you’re why we get to see Sara as often as we do.”

    “Sara is the reason she has the privilege of visiting you. She has earned great esteem from my father.”

    Dinah smiles at her attempt to deflect. 

    “Well, you’re certainly the reason she calls me so often.”

    “Perhaps,” Nyssa allows with a slight conspiratorial grin. 

    “You’re talking about me again, aren’t you?” Sara appears in the doorway. 

    She’s in her training clothes, flushed and a bit sweaty from a sparring session with her older sister. A few of the red marks on her upper arms look like they will bruise, and Nyssa feels a surge of pride in Laurel’s skill.    

    “I can’t leave you alone with either of my parents,” Sara continues to complain, bumping Nyssa’s hip with hers and stretching up to kiss her cheek. She is so free with her affection in front of her friends and family, and here on this island in general, in a way they cannot be in Nanda Parbat.   “You are our greatest commonality, habibti.”  
 

   “You both like books, the older the better. And Damian!” she refutes.

    “You’re still going to come up,” Dinah replies.

    Sara sighs and moves as if to take Damian from her mother. Nyssa catches her elbow and warns:

    “You should know better than to take a child from his grandmother.”

    Surprise flickers, very briefly, in Sara’s eyes and then she grins.

    “Fine. Sin hogs Rocket, you hog D, and Felicity hogs whichever she can. But go ahead. You can also get up with him in two hours.”

    “If you like,” Dinah offers. “My internal clock is an absolute mess anyway.”

    “We might just take you up on that.”

      
***

  
    Sara finds Nyssa on the balcony of their expansive suite. It briefly strikes her as odd that the room already feels empty in the absence of Damian’s bassinet pulled up alongside their four-poster. 

    Nyssa is taking advantage of the solitude on a chaise lounge on the balcony, book in hand and sea air in her hair. Below, the moon reflects off the dark water and the waves lap at the beach.

    Sara relieves her of the book, a knee on either side of her hips, demanding her full attention.

    “Rocket is sleeping in Sin’s room.”

    “And?”

    “Damian is with my mom.”

    “And?”

    “We’re _all alone_.”

    “If you want for company, I’m sure-“ Nyssa begins to tease, but Sara’s not in the mood. She growls as she takes Nyssa’s face in her hands and kisses her soundly.

    Nyssa quickly gets with the program, hands finding the small of her back and then exploring in opposite directions, deliciously slow. When her fingers bury in the hair at the nape of Sara’s neck, Sara moans her approval and grind s down in encouragement. Sara’s lips drift down, taking delight in the squirming she can elicit with the lightest of touches, even as her fingers slide down the taut muscles of Nyssa’s stomach, slipping under the waistband of her silk pajama pants. 

    “I thought you would want to take advantage of the empty bed,” Nyssa says after nipping at Sara’s ear, even as she arches up towards Sara’s intent fingers.

    “Later,” Sara promises. “We haven’t christened the balcony yet.”

  
***  
  


    “It’s pretty ridiculous that of all of this, all the secret island, highly ritualized assassin organization, super hot partner who could kill me with her pinky, _of all of this_ , the fact that you, Sara Lance, are wearing a baby right now is the weirdest thing to me.”

    Sara laughs, one hand on Damian’s rump as he rests comfortably in the sling tied across her.

    “Sometimes I put Rocket in it,” Sara tells her sister. “She is surprisingly not a fan.”

    Laurel snorts, thankfully before she takes a sip of her divine coffee.

    “That would be less weird for me, honestly,” Laurel says. “You know what’s more weird, actually? _Nyssa_ wearing him.”

    Sara laughs again. 

    “I think it’s cute!”

    “Because you, baby sister, are smitten.” Laurel looks to how Sara keeps the hand not holding a mug firmly on the infant. “Twice over.”

    “Guilty as charged.”

    “Make sure Felicity sets up a secure way to send packages, too. I am going to send him the most obnoxious toys. It’s basically my job as an aunt.”

    “I’m his aunt, too!”

    “Not really,” Laurel argues, toes in the pristine sand, watching Felicity and Sin toss a ball for Rocket down towards the water. “You’re his mom-aunt. In a not creepy way.”

    “Thanks for the clarification,” Sara rolls her eyes. She briefly takes her hand off Damian to point to a bruise on her upper arm. “You did this by the way.”

    Laurel grins into her coffee mug, quite proud of herself.

    “Sorry?”

    “You are not. And Felicity already set up something for packages because she might beat you for most obnoxious gift.”

    “Oh it’s on,” Laurel promises. She looks over to her sister. “Congratulations, Sara. I’m really happy for you. You seem really happy with Surprise Baby, who was even a surprise for you.”

    “Happy, terrified, conflicted, etc. You know what Nyssa said that helped me make up my mind?”

    Laurel shakes her head at the rhetorical question.

    “She said Damian’s gonna grow up in the League no matter what: he’s Ra’s’s grandson. But maybe we at least can give him something a little better.”

    Laurel smiles warmly, relieved to hear that her sister has given that some thought.

    “I guess I just hope that doesn’t make it harder for him,” Sara continues, hand idly stroking the baby’s back. 

    Laurel thinks on that for a moment.

    “I think if anyone can make it work, it’s you and Nyssa,” Laurel assures. Then, to distract Sara from that slight sadness in her eyes, she adds:  “I just really hope that when he’s a toddler he runs around introducing himself like Nyssa.”    

    Sara laughs sharply, narrowly avoiding spilling coffee on the lump of softness that is Laurel’s new nephew.

    “Damian al Ghul,” Laurel intones, “Grandson of the Demon. On tiny little feet!” 

    Sara is still laughing. 

    “Don’t joke! That’s totally my future.” She calms a little, taking on a mischievous glint. “So. Are you dating him yet?”

    “No! And stop!” Dammit, not the right answer.

    “And yet you knew exactly who I was talking about,” Sara says knowingly. “What’s the problem? From what I hear, he’s super smart, super funny, and thinks you’re god’s gift to vigilantism. Sin tells meyou two talk all the time.”

    “Traitor,” Laurel grumbles.

    “What’s the hold up, Laurel Lance?”

    Laurel groans, staring decidedly at the sea.

    “He’s too nice.”

    “Oh gross, Laurel, please tell me you’re not one of those-“

    “No! No, not like that. Cisco is wonderful. So smart, and the kindest person I’ve ever met. And he deserves better than me.”

    “ _Bullshit_ ,” Sara says resolutely. “There isn’t better than you. Besides, he is clearly into you and wants you so it is Oliver-levels of patronizing if you decide all by yourself what’s best for him.”

    Laurel flushes and weakly protests: “You haven’t even met him.”

    “I have eyes _everywhere_ ,” Sara says.

    “We don’t even live in the same city.”

    “Okay, that is a valid concern, but it’s not exactly a deal breaker for dinner and a movie.”

    “When’s the last time you went on a date?”

    “Nyssa and I hunted down and killed a human trafficker three weeks ago.”

    “Romantic.”

    “We were in Prague. We got dinner after.”

    Laurel shakes her head.

    “Give him a shot. If you want. I just want you to be happy. Not that you need to be in a relationship to be happy! You just seem pretty crazy about him.”

    “Fine. I’ll think about it.”

    “Okay.”

    “Stop being wise. You’re the baby sister.”

    “Middle,” Sara teases.

    “Where are Nyssa and Mom, by the way?”

    “Library,” Sara groans. “Mom found Nyssa’s medieval collection.”

    “Oh god. We might be leaving her here.”

    “No. You have to take her back.”

    Laurel laughs.

    “If your beloved lets me!”

    Suddenly, Damian starts to wail after a few false starts.

    “See,” Laurel says as Sara pulls him out of the sling to soothe him. “He’s saying: ‘Don’t take my gramma!’”

    “No, he’s saying: ‘No, Aunt Laurel, don’t leave Gramma here! She and Khala will drown me in books and I’ll turn into a giant nerd like you.’”

    “Rude. My nephew would never speak to me that way. I’m his favorite.”

    “No way, I am,” Sin argues as the ball group, all a little water-splashed, joins them.

    “Nope, definitely me,” Felicity refutes. “Especially when I give him a direct line to me.”

    Sara shakes her head, and Laurel watches as her little sister easily, tenderly calms the tiny infant, who happily nuzzles into her chest as she kisses the top of his head. 

    “Damian loves all of you equally,” she assures them. “Unless we’re including Rocket. Then she’s definitely his favorite.”

***

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

“Nyssa?” Sara stage-whispers across their suite. “Nyssa, come here, quick.”  
 

   Nyssa emerges from the bathroom, her stride a few paces quicker than usual and her hand surreptitiously slipping towards a knife in the small of her back. 

    Sara shakes her head, dispelling Nyssa’s tension, and it’s only with curiosity that Nyssa approaches Sara at the edge of Damian’s bassinet.

    “Look at them,” Sara actually whispers this time.

    In the bassinet, which is pulled up to the side of the bed they share, Damian partakes in his afternoon nap. The surprising part, however, is that Rocket is curled up with him, her little head at the top of his, her long body next to him. They are roughly equal in size and weight and capacity for surprisingly loud volumes in proportion to body mass.

    “When did this happen?” Nyssa asks.

    Sara shrugs. 

    “Best one of us takes him out when it’s time… I wouldn’t want Umm Saleem losing a finger. Sarookh can be quite vicious.”

    Sara grins. “Do you think they’re okay to leave like that?” she asks.

    “As long as we keep an eye on them, yes,” Nyssa assures her, but Damian doesn’t give them a choice, instead screwing up his face and letting out a sob well before he even opens his eyes. 

    Nyssa grabs him up as Rocket begins to stir. The tiny dog’s eyes pop open, sitting up sharply, only relaxing when she sees her young charge is in safe arms. Sara laughs and scoops up Rocket. 

    “Who’s hungry?” Sara asks, directing it towards Damian. Rocket’s ears perk up. “Not you, silly, I know you already had breakfast _and_ stole table scraps from your aunts.”

    Sara watches Nyssa bounce Damian with an increasingly natural rhythm and feels her heart swell with warmth, even as the baby continues to cry. Rocket attempts to sit up in her arms, narrowing her focus on the squalling newborn, as if to say _“The puppy is unwell. See to him.”_ (Yes, in her mind, Rocket has adopted something close to Nyssa’s syntax.) She scoots around the bassinet and pushes up to kiss Nyssa softly. 

    “We should feed him. Or change him. Or both,” she says after her lips leave hers. 

    “Both,” Nyssa smiles. “But in the opposite order.”

    Sara grins back. “Good point. We’ll go get the bottle. You can be on diaper duty.”

    “You leave me the most glamorous of jobs, habibti.”

    “Hey, you make diaper duty look good,” Sara teases, pressing a final kiss on Nyssa’s jaw, just under her ear. “Okay, D, I’ll be back once Khala’s made you less stinky. Try not to pee on her again.” She pauses on her way out the door. “At least not until I get back to watch.”

    The small stuffed giraffe hits the door frame and not the back of Sara’s head, and Sara looks back and smiles.

    “I know you did that on purpose.”

    “Indeed. My aim is as good as Damian’s.”

    Sara laughs her way out the door.  
  
***  
      
    “I hope I’m not boring you,” Felicity says, pushing her glasses up her nose. She really likes Nyssa, but being alone with her is still pretty intimidating. Even dressed down, out of the armor, a baby suckling on a bottle in her arms as she gently rocks him, she makes Felicity nervous. 

    “Not at all. I’m quite impressed with what you’ve done. I’d trust none other to do such a thorough job.”

    Felicity grins as Damian lets out a gurgle against the bottle. They’re in Nyssa and Sara’s absolutely gorgeous quarters. Lounging on a sinfully comfortable sofa with laptop and tablet at hand, it’s the most comfortable hacking Felicity’s ever done.

    “Well, this thing should basically alert you whenever anything human-sized or bigger is within a twenty-mile radius. Downside, you’ll definitely know where every dolphin, whale, shark, or even just super big fish in the area is. Or maybe that’s an upside? Depends on how you feel about sea life.”

    Nyssa smiles fondly at her, and Felicity blushes.

    “Sara has understandably mixed feelings about oceans and islands, but I am fond of them.”

    “Oh right. Ship-wrecked twice’ll probably do that to you,” Felicity realizes. 

    Nyssa nods. “Are you nearing completion? You are allowed some measure of relaxation; we didn’t bring you all the way out here simply to work.”

    “Well, honestly, this kinda stuff is pretty relaxing to me? But yeah, I’ll do some final tweaks before we leave, whenever that is, but for now, I’m basically done.”

    “Excellent.” 

    “Wow, he’s a good eater,” Felicity notes as Damian gulps down the rest of his bottle and Nyssa sets it on the side table next to her armchair. 

    “Very.”

    “I’ll burp him,” Felicity offers, because she is so far from wanting babies in her own life but god does she love snuggling sweet-smelling Damian while she has the chance. And then handing him back to Sara and Nyssa when he’s smelly, loud, etc. 

    Nyssa hands him over willingly, which Felicity takes to be a sign of trust, because Nyssa is very choosy over Damian’s caretakers.

    Sara finds them twenty minutes later discussing the pros and cons of different coding languages (Nyssa is just ridiculously well-read about everything) as Felicity holds a sleeping Damian in her arms and Nyssa types away at the computer while they play with a few settings.

    “Hey nerds,” Sara greets them warmly. Felicity looks up and grins.

    “She’s pretty good at this. I don’t know why you needed me.”

    “Nyssa’s pretty good at everything,” Sara says, bumping Felicity’s shoulder with her hip, a very light hello, but not enough to jostle the baby. 

    “I’m well-versed in the basics of many things, habibti. An expert in very few.”

    There’s a note of innuendo in the look the two share that has Felicity blushing all over again. 

    “Not in front of the babies,” Sara says, playfully holding hands over Felicity’s and Damian’s eyes. She pulls her hands away and squeezes Felicity’s shoulder before sitting down beside them.

    “He’s out cold,” Felicity says. “He’s got a full tummy.”

    Sara grins as she stretches out to her left.

    “Soooo,” she says meaningfully. “How’s Oliver?”

    Felicity bites back a groan. Nyssa scoffs without looking up.

    “She thinks you can do better,” Sara explains.

    “I know so.”

    Sara rolls her eyes. 

    “Feel free to ignore her.”

    Felicity wonders how many times someone has said that about the Heir to the Demon. 

    “Oliver’s fine,” Felicity sighs.

    “Are you two…?”

    Nyssa huffs again, even though she is still staring at the screen.

    “Not yet,” Felicity answers. Damian wiggles a little in her arms before letting out a great sigh (being Grandson of the Demon is very stressful it seems, even at six weeks old) and settling back to sleep. “Come on; you know you’ll get an update if that ever changes.”

    “Likely multiple updates,” Nyssa comments dryly. “Your sisters and Thea may even beat Felicity to the job.”

    Sara is still grinning.

    “He’s not still being all paternalistic and overbearing, is he? I thought I effectively cut off most of that influence.” She draws her thumb across her throat. “Also, Nyssa will be happy to fly to Starling and knock him around a little more.”

    “Quite happy,” Nyssa notes.

    “I think Laurel’s got you covered on that one. They’re actually a really good team.”

    “Good. Someone must help you and John Diggle keep him in check,” Nyssa comments, closing the laptop, meeting Felicity’s eyes with some seriousness.  “I do believe that you deserve someone more worthy, Felicity Smoak. But I also understand that the heart wants what the heart wants.”

    “Aw, thanks babe,” Sara jokes.

    “I think I will go see about the progress of dinner,” Nyssa announces, standing. She crosses and leans to kiss Sara’s cheek briefly. “I’ll see you then?”

    “You know I never miss a meal,” Sara teases. “I’m gonna stay here and grill Felicity about her love life until then, while she’s trapped by the baby.”

    “Save me!” Felicity calls after Nyssa.

    “You should know that I am powerless to subvert the whims of Taer al Asfer,” Nyssa apologizes.      
  


***

  
    “It’s way beyond amazing here,” Sin grins, looking up at the myriad stars in the sky, brighter than anything she’s ever seen before. Her hands are tucked behind the back of her head, and Rocket’s warm, soft body lays across her ribcage. 

    She doesn’t even have to look to know that Sara is grinning at her, as they lay on soft silk blankets spread across the cool sand. Her belly is full of wonderful food and wine she’s only recently old enough to drink, not that she ever really followed those rules. Also the drinking age is probably different here in paradise.

    “Do you… Do you think you might want to stay?”

    Well, that does take her by surprise. She swallows the shock and tries to play it cool.

    “Is this like that time you asked me to be your live in dog nanny?”

    Her hand finds the ears of the dog in question, scratching lovingly. Rocket lets out a contented sigh. 

    “We can always use an extra set of hands,” Sara says warmly, “But like that time, I really just want to have you around.”

    She’d be a fool to turn it down. Paradise in a lavish house full of world class cooking and probably her favorite person in the world. Turn a blind eye to the _how_ and _why_ they live like this, and it is literally heaven.

    “I don’t think I can, Sara.”

    Fool it is.

    Sara pushes herself up, her turn to be surprised.

    “Really?”

    “I kinda love my job?” Sin says, even as she tells herself what a complete moron she is being. “I mean, god, up ’til a year or so ago, if you’d given me the option to leave Starling to go anywhere I would have taken it in an instant. To live in a freaking tent in the Sahara would’ve been better. But like, I’m really making a difference, Sara. For kids just like me. And I like living with Laurel. It’s not quite as fun as living with you guys, but there is 97% less of a chance of walking in on her doing it on the kitchen counter, so it balances out. She’s teaching me to do a lot of awesome stuff and help a lot of people. And I even feel like I’m part of the whole Team Arrow/Team Canary thing now. I’m in a really good place.”  
 

    Sara’s quiet for a moment, then she smiles, soft and sweet and wonderful in the moonlight. 

    “You went and grew up on me.” 

    “Sorry?”

    Sara shakes her head, still smiling and maybe even a little teary, nudging her bare foot against Sin’s.

    “Tell me about your work.” 

    “Oh, um. We’ve got a whole gender neutral, under twenty wing set up, with counselors and stuff. I guess I’m basically in charge over there. We teach ‘em job skills and everyone has chores, which I guess isn’t that different from the men’s and women’s and family areas, but they don’t have to deal with harassment and shit. Oh! And we do like, homework help and GED. Stuff I’d’ve totally rolled my eyes at, but we manage to make it kinda not terrible, I think? I’m taking my GED next month.”

    “No way! When?”

    “15th. Laurel’s helping me study.”

    “Awesome.”

    “Afterwards she thinks I should take some basic management and business shit at the community college. If I want. Don’t worry; I tell her when she’s being an overbearing big sister.”

    “Well thank god someone’s there to.”

    Sin grins.

    “You’re gonna be the coolest mom ever,” she bursts out, apropos of absolutely nothing. 

    “Thanks?” Sara laughs. 

    “No, really. You’ve got the biggest heart, Sara. You saved my life. I mean, literally, of course. But you also gave me a home, and a family, and…  a purpose, y’know?”

    “Hey, we gave you a job. You figured out your own purpose.”

    Sin feels a dopey grin spreading across her face and a blush rising up her cheeks. 

    “Hey, I’m trying to give you a compliment here.”

    “Sorry, sorry,” Sara jokingly apologizes. Sara lays back down beside Sin, also looking up at the stars.

    They lay in the most comfortable silence Sin has ever experienced; it’s always been this easy with Sara, and Sin doesn’t know how she ever got this lucky. 

    “Uh, Sara?” Sin asks after several minutes have stretched on.

    “Yeah?”

    “If I decide this was the worst decision I’ve ever made, can I, uh, change my mind?”

    “The door is always open.”

  
***

  
    There’s hugs and tears as the same helicopter gets loaded up a week after it arrived. _(“We really can’t stay any longer,” Laurel confessed. “We left Thea and Roy in charge, and Thea’s gonna need a break.”)_

    Dinah has to be convinced to hand her grandson back over, and she promises to visit soon, and Nyssa and Sara also promise to visit when they can. Rocket jumps onto the helicopter with Sin, but returns when Sara calls her, despite Sin’s efforts to bribe her to stay. 

    They move out of the courtyard as the helicopter begins to warm up, shielding Damian’s little ears (and Rocket’s big ones), but they wave from the doorway as it lifts off, a sweet little family in a way none of them ever expected. 

    “So…” Felicity says into the headsets they all wear. “That just happened, right?”

    No one’s sure who snorts out the laugh first, but soon they’re all, Dinah, Sin, Laurel and Felicity, practically bent over with laughter while their silent League pilot takes them away from this secret island and back to Starling City.

  
***

  
fin

 


End file.
